Listen (biblical Topic)
See also: Listening
The listening is a recurrent theme in the Bible.
It is said that for the Greek of the the old Middle East, the sight is the most important direction. For the Jew of the Bible, it is listening.
The interpersonal relationship is played between speaking/saying and to hear/listen. This is why when the relation with God is concerned, the Bible is not afraid to speak about Circoncision of the ears or the lips.
In the same order of idea, one also speaks about “circumcision of the heart”. Indeed, the heart indicates in biblical anthropology the center of the person. Major listening is that of the heart, or it is not.
That it is of its means (ears, lips) or about its principle (heart), the circumcision means basic God adhesion, with his project, in the present moment.
This major adhesion in a true dialog (which does not exclude the objections since they are not a means to say " non" a priori ), it is that which is concerned in l'" écoute" such as the Bible hears it, Word of God.
The vocabulary of Hebrew listening
שמע The roots which express listening in the Hebraic Bible are שמע and אזן. The verb formed on שמע, more important, has a significance broader than ours. To make short, it means according to the context “to hear”, “to listen”, “to obey” or “to even learn how”. אזן The second אזן root is more known for the substantive “ear”, but the verb corresponding is attested also, “to lend the ear to him”, “to tighten the ear”. It has a connotation more poetic than שמע, for which it is often used as synonymic parallel.
Importance of listening at the right ones
We can initially consider the importance of listening in a context of Vocation. I.e. of call of God. Such a call supposes that it is heard it, that it is listened to.Samuel
We could review all the large characters of the Bible (Abraham, Moïse, David…) and in particular all the Prophet S. But there is a case emblematic that the Bible gives us, that of Samuel (1 Sm 3). The availability with listening is one of the points of the passage, as one sees it with the answer of Samuel made according to the council of the priest Élie: " Speaks, Seigneur, your servant listens to " (1 Sm 3,9.10). A popular etymology of the name of Samuel even makes say to this first name “That which listens to God” (Schma El). A whole program!Élie
Another passage is particularly outstanding in this topic of the listening of God: Élie in Horeb (1 R 19,1-18).Death threat, Élie flees with the desert, only survivor of the prophets of YHWH, after having eliminated 400 prophets from Baal. The text would require a long presentation. After a long advance, it takes refuge in " the grotte" of Horeb " and here Word of YHWH… YHWH known as: “Leave and are held in the mountain in front of YHWH”… YHWH was not in wind… YHWH was not in earthquake… YHWH was not in fire… After fire, the murmur (litt.: " the voix") of a light silence. As soon as Élie heard it , it here is the face " (1 R 9,9… 13).
God can make feel his presence by multiple phenomena impressing, but the essence of what he wants to give us of Itself perceives paradoxically only in the listening of silence.
Listening in Deutéronome
Listening is a topic which often returns in this book, with repeated formulas. Most known is that of the " large commandement" : Listening, Israel, the Lord our God is the single one. you will love the Lord your God of all your heart, all your heart and all your force (Dt 6,4). We have in Deutéronome 6 times the requirement " Listening " addressed to Israel. What indicates the importance of this injunction. The Jewish tradition gave a great place to this command. It is the origin of one of the great prayers of Jewish piety (the Shema Israel ). To go further, it is necessary to see what wants to say to listen in Deutéronome.Listening, it is initially a characteristic of the living being, as it a contrario is seen in Dt 4,28, where the forgeries " gods who are the work of the hand of the men " are " unable to look at and listen to, to nourish and feel ". It is not only about living with the biological direction (to develop and reproduce), but still the alive able one to enter in personal relation, to enter in dialog.
It is also the normal attitude of a son with respect to his parents. That goes very far because the attitude towards the parents conditions the attitude towards God, which is a responsibility for the two parts… because the fault of the son can become a fault towards God, possibly punishable of death, in the logic of Deutéronome (Dt 21,18-21).
listening is initially a manifestation of the capacity to enter in dialog. Dialog with the others, dialog with God.
Listen and authority
Listening is essential to the exercise of justice and the authority. Brace tests the need to give instructions in this direction to those on which it will be able to discharge partially of its judging function. " you will listen to the causes of your brothers, and you will slice with justice the businesses of each one with his/her brothers, or the emigrant… You will not have partiality in the judgment: thus listen to the small one like the large one, are not afraid of anybody, because the judgment belongs to God. " (Dt 1,16-17). This authority is a delegated authority, it belongs into clean to God. It is on this conviction that the impartiality of the judgment rests. However as the quotation shows it higher, the impartiality of the judgment starts with the impartiality of listening .Listen and obedience of the man of God
In fact, that which listens to God can cause obedience with God while becoming an intermediary. " You, approach to listen to all words of YHWH our God. You, you will repeat us all that YHWH our God will have said to you, and , we will listen to we it will put it into practice " (Dt 5,27). This last text enables us to recall that the verb " to listen to " can be sometimes translated " to obey ". The priest, the prophet and the king assume a whole a function of intermediary between God and his People. That supposes of their share a listening of God. A attenctive listening.This role of intermediary, which illustrated in a emblematic way Moïse, is clearly described in Dt 5,4-5: " YHWH spoke with you face to face… I were held between YHWH and you… to announce to you the word of YHWH ". Not only this intermediary transmits the words or the commands of God, but it can intervene like intercessor, and his prayer to save the People (Dt 9,19; 10,10).
An intermediary can thus have an eminently positive role, but it can quite to the contrary appear disastrous. The false prophet will be punished of death! Dt 18,19-20: " If a man does not listen to my words that it prophet known as on my Behalf, myself would require account of it of him. But if the prophet dares to say words on my Behalf that I would not have ordered to him to say… it will die, this prophet ".
This is why an understanding is always of setting. The criterion of understanding is the attachment with only God of Israel (any Dt 13, especially verses 2 to 5). On the contrary " nations" are mislaid by listening to various types of manipulators (magician, wizard, astrologers and soothsayers…) Dt 18,14; because they do not have anything to defend oneself some.
All that stresses the importance of an authentic prophet, who transmits really the word that it received from God (Dt 18,15: " a prophet of the medium of you, among your brothers, like me (Brace), will be highlighted for you by YHWH your God, it is him whom you will listen to ". This verse will cause waiting of an extraordinary prophet, the equal one of Brace, and will feed Messianic waiting. " a man who would not listen to my words that it (the prophet) known as on my Behalf, myself I will ask him for account " of it; (Dt 18,19). Indeed, the end of Deutéronome specifies " well; It rose more to Israel of prophet like Moïse, which knew YHWH face to face " (34,10).
The intermediary which listens to God is not the relai of a tyrant. God seeks to be made obey not like a despot, but like a teacher. " Of the sky it made you listen to his voice to be educated " (Dt 4,36; to also see 8,5; 11,2). This obedience (this listening) is the manner for the People of accommodating Alliance that God ties with him, it is thus like a condition of validity or perenniality of this Alliance. See Dt 7,12; 8,20.
In fact, the commands of God are means of opening with the happiness whose God wants to fill his People. This happiness is available, God proposes it to us, but we have still with us to seize some, with us to adapt it. It is another logic which apparent lump of a woman, it is the logic of the two ways: " Vois, I give you today blessing and curse, blessing if you listen to the commands of YHWH your God… curses if you do not listen to the commands… if you deviate from the way that I prescribe you " Dt 11,26… 28. See still any Dt 28, with the blessings and the curses which rises from fidelity or the inaccuracy like clauses of the contract of Alliance.
This listening obeying constitutes Israel as the People of Alliance , God's people. See Dt 26,16-19 which is presented in the form of a charter between YHWH and Israel. The quiet listening of all the people underlines the solemnity of the contract of Alliance with God. Effort of silence necessary for a " intensité" listening in agreement with the importance of the moment: " Make silence and listening, Israel , today YHWH your God constituted you like his People. You will listen to the voice of YHWH your God and you will act according to the commands and the decrees that me I order you today " Dt 27,9-10.
Listen and proximity of God
The listening of God supposes a proximity. This one can be frightening ou/et harmonious. The Bible affirms that " no one cannot see God without dying ". This is why this proximity starts the fear and the need for an intermediary (Dt 18,16-17). At the same time Deutéronome shows that the hearing of God is possible, it is even one of the great privileges of Israel. The major text on this subject is Dt 4,32-40, but we can be satisfied to quote Dt 5,24: " … we saw that God spoke with the man and that this one remained alive ". It would seem that hearing allows a first contact with God. The vision would go further in the proximity. Dt 4,12 insists: " … a voice spoke, and listened to it to you, but you did not see any form, it had anything else there only the voice ".If Israel listens to its God, it will appear wise and advised, it will be admired other nations. Because the knowledge of the Law enables him to act while being based on true values, and of knowing to put them into practice. Israel will have the reputation to be intelligent. The precepts of its Law for that will be envied. Then YHWH will be able to answer the invocations of its People and to thus show that it of it is close (Voir Dt 4,5-8).
In fact, God listens too. He listened to his People in first, before even as he is People. The release of Egypt is the large witness of YHWH sympathizing for his People (e.g. Dt 26,7-8). Exaucement is a proof (not always given) of this listening, so much so that sometimes " will be translated; to listen to " by " exaucer ". In the other direction, God does not listen to the enemies of his People: (Dt 23,6) " YHWH your God did not agree to listen to Balaam, and YHWH your God turned over the curse in blessing because he loves you, YHWH your God ". Listening must become a reciprocal attitude and it becomes a dialog then where this truth becomes perceptible: " it loves you, YHWH your God " .
Listen and conversion
The harmonious proximity is the consequence of conversion, of reciprocal listening, attitude of adhesion to God: " … in the days to come, you will return with YHWH your God and you will listen to his voice . (Dt 4,30). It is this attitude which the requirement " seeks; Listening, Israel ".The purpose of this requirement of God is Happiness: " You will listen, Israel, you will be attentive to achieve what will do you good and " will multiply you; (Dt 6,3; to see also 4,40 more clearly but without the verb " to listen to "). Simple natural happiness is included in this benevolent project of God (see Dt 11,13-15; 28,1-14 mentions of listening) all while overflowing it and while transmitting themselves to the future generations (Dt 12,28).
With all its directions of listening we can now reconsider the first verse which held our attention: " Listening, Israel , YHWH is our God, YHWH is un/unic, you will like YHWH your God of all your heart, all your heart and all your strength " (Dt 6,4-5). There exists many translations of this verse (e.g.: " YHWH is our God, YHWH alone "), but compared to our topic, essence is clear. The requirement " Listening " introduced the need (nonarbitrary but rising from the nature of the things) for liking YHWH. We can deduce from these verses which listening is the first stage of the love of YHWH. This command is, by the requirement " Listening " , a call to the attention necessary to love God, to cultivate his proximity and the means of being maintained there. These means are obedience, the understanding and the listening of truths prophets, the impartiality in the judgment…
The continuation of the text can be seen like a description of listening like attitude including all the person: " These words that me I order you today, are in your heart ". Consequently " you will inculcate them in your sons, you will speak… about it all circumstances (Dt 6,6-7). Here we find also the fact that the education of the parents conditions the attitude towards God.
The listening of God leads the members of his People not only to one subsidiary attitude towards God, but still to an attention with the other members of the People. In other words, theological listening leads to a more human listening (see Dt 26,12-15 with the expression " I listened to the voice of YHWH "). Conversely the refusal to listen to YHWH will have as a consequence the Exile, confrontation and the immersion in cultures and languages that Israel will not be able to listen (= to include/understand): Dt 28,47-64 in particular 28,49 & 62.
In fact, contracted and assumed Alliance opens capacities of listening (comprehension) to read the events of the history like as many signs of God: " until today, YHWH had not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, ears to listen to (Dt 29,3). That relates to in particular the event founder of the exit of Egypt mentioned into 29,1-2.
It is that the circumcision of the heart (Dt 30,1-10), which gets this proximity, this permanent intimacy of God (Dt 30,11-14). " Israel Listening, you will like YHWH your God " because " it loves you, YHWH your God ".